Some good things, some bad things...

Well, we've toured our new neighbourhood (by TTC-ing it there, then walking around on foot). It's official - within 5 city blocks we have every kind of store we would ever need. There's a pet food store, a "grass roots" store where we can refill our cleaning solution bottles (YAY!), a "bulk food" store that sells some bulk items manufactured in Durham region (no joy yet on a source of locally grown flour), and a wine and beer making store for locally made wobbly pops. What's more, our new home has both a pear tree and a plum tree (plum wine), and a cold room in the basement - seems a perfect match.

However, we've run into three possible problems:

1. Our house needs some work, especially the bathroom and basement floor. Perhaps we can find a source of reclaimed tiles and flooring or something.
2. The only secure spot for my bike, (commuting vehicle) is inside the basement door. The only way to get it around to the basement door is through the neighbour's driveway. The previous owner says the neighbour is nice. Maybe they won't mind me coming through twice a day...
3. We need new appliances. Our current fridge and stove, while still perfectly functional, simply will not fit into the house's entry ways - even with the doors taken off. So Cindy and I have been scouring the Interweb looking for the most efficient of each of these items that will fit. We've found some likely candidates, but now we need to decide what is more practical from an ecological impact perspective. We could buy used items which would likely be less efficient (both of the new appliances are energy star compliant") but wouldn't result in the purchasing of yet another appliance (recycling old items is our mantra). Or, the energy savings associated with running energy star appliances would offset the manufacturing and transportation costs of new items. We still haven't wrestled this one to the ground.

And we often run into the same dilemma with other items. Is an item that is local and less "earth-friendly" better than something that has come from abroad? We're still undecided about this, and until we make a decision, we'll simply have to take things on a case-by-case basis.

In the meantime, we're going to have to find a way to keep our locally grown produce fresh.